The brake operating device constructed as described above has hitherto been disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. Sho 50-132,852. Such device is provided with an inverted-L-like-shaped operating lever comprising a grip and a pivoting portion so that the pivoting portion is mounted swingably to the bracket through a lever shaft. The bracket abuts at the end face (to be called hereinafter the first abutting face) against an end face (to be called hereinafter the second abutting surface) at the pivot portion of the lever, thereby restricting the lever in its unidirectional swinging motion and controlling the return position of the lever which is returned by a return spring at the brake.
The return position of the lever is restricted to determine a grip dimension defined as an interval between the grip of the lever and the handle. This interval is significantly different in its proper value between bicycles for adults and bicycles for children, so that the grip dimension, when the same braking operating device is intended to be mounted to the bicycles both for adults and children, must be changeable.
The aforesaid conventional brake operating device, which has a changeable grip dimension, uses an adjusting bolt which screws with the bracket in a perforating manner so as to abut at its tip against the surface of the pivot portion of the lever opposite to the bracket, thereby adjusting the bolt in its screw position to change the operating lever in the return position thereof.
Such conventional construction allows the operating lever to swing around the pivot point thereof to adjust the lever in position with respect to the bracket. Hence, when the adjusting bolt is operated to change the grip dimension, the second abutting surface at the operating lever moves away from the first abutting surface at the bracket to produce a gap between both the abutting surfaces, thereby creating a problem in that an appearance of the brake operating device is poor. Also, since the bolt contacts at its tip with the end face of the lever to restrict the return position thereof, a problem is created in that the lever is not stably restricted in the return position. Furthermore, the tip of the adjusting bolt only is subjected to a load applied to the operating lever when returned, whereby the adjusting bolt and the operating lever at the abutting surface thereof are subjected to a great deal of wear, thereby creating a problem in durability.